Lose 25LBS now and Learn how
to Live a Healthier Lifestyle!
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“Feeling healthy and feeling good
about you is not a luxury - it's an
absolute necessity”
My Personal Story
It seemed like it was just yesterday when I was 18 years old. At
that age, I did not have a care in the world. The immediate
focus in my life was deciding on what to do with my life at that
moment. College? Military? The military was a great option. I
thought about joining the Air Force at some point and
becoming an Officer. Not! I had an issue with authority figures
at the time and wimped out and decided to go to college
instead. Exercise and Dieting was the least of my worries. I
was quite active at that age, and was quite active playing
several sports simultaneously. I was a normal, healthy, young
man, venturing out into the world and wanted to eagerly
experience the adventures of adulthood. That was then. Fast
forward 30 years later, and the world is a different place now,
along with the responsibilities of a family, corporate
employment, and the other challenges in life that we
sometimes took for granted.
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My name is Steven Foley. I am a 48 year old male, father of
two, happily married, with a mortgage, private school tuition,
and a corporate job. And oh yes, I am about 90 pounds
overweight. Being healthy was never a serious concern of
mine. Throughout my childhood and adult years, I have always
been healthy, with no serious health conditions to speak of. I
usually ate what I wanted, when I wanted, and somehow it
never affected my figure, or affected any other aspect of my
life. I thought I was somewhat bulletproof. Obesity? Me? No
way! I thought people that were overweight were folks that
had no control over their lives, and did not care about their
appearance. No way did I think I would be categorized as an
obese, overweight individual. Moi?
Well, it’s funny how life can throw a few twists and challenges
into your plans when you least expect it. My story of becoming
overweight started when I started having a few health issues as
I approached the age of forty. At that stage of my life I was
climbing the corporate ladder, built a decent portfolio of
investment rental properties, two beautiful sons, and a lovely
wife. I was happier than a bat escaping out of hell. I thought I
was the king of my world! Do you remember the movie
“Titanic”, where Leonardo Dicaprio stood up on the bow of the
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ship, with his hands raised up high, and shouting at the top of
his lungs, “I’m the king of the world”? Well, that’s how I felt at
that moment. That was indeed a great feeling.
After reaching 40, my health started to deteriorate. It started
with creeping high blood pressure, borderline high cholesterol,
and a serious case of sleep apnea. For once in my life, I felt
somewhat vulnerable. OK, I thought, not the end of the world.
Those issues can be managed by making slight lifestyle changes.
I started exercising more, and eating right. My weight started
to fluctuate, up and down. But mostly it fluctuated upwards. I
started and ended diets. My biggest challenge is that I loved to
eat fine foods. Although I did not abuse my consumption of
food, it was what I ate that packed the pounds on. My diet
consisted of foods rich in carbs, sweets, not a lot of vegetables,
and a love affair with Haagen Daaz ice cream. There was a time
in my life if I was given a choice between staying married, and
having a lifetime supply of Haagen Daaz rum and raisin Ice
cream, hmmm,,, I would have thought about it, ever so slightly.
Only kidding. Well, you get the point, I considered myself an
Ice Cream connoisseur.
Age 46 came with a Cancer Diagnosis, a week prior to my
birthday. Ok, I thought, this surely isn’t happening. Who did I
tick off to deserve this? I have been a good person throughout
my life. Why Me? Why Now? I found it difficult to even harm a
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fly. I considered myself a decent person. Well, those questions
were never answered. I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself
and move forward in life full steam ahead. But, it certainly was
not easy. Well to make a long story short, the diagnosis was
not that bad, and I am glad to say that I am now cancer free. I
had a lot to be thankful for, but the mental burden of the
diagnosis, and the uncertainty of the future, threw me into a
mild state of depression. I went and indulged in some of my
favorite past times. I indulged in foods that made me feel
good, and yes, which included the infamous MS Haagen Daaz.
MS Haagen Daaz and I would have a very intimate encounter.
She would call me around 10PM, after everyone was asleep.
Every time I walked by the refrigerator, I thought about that
lovely frozen treat. I would then sneak to the refrigerator, and
tend to my craving. Have you ever had Haagen Daaz rum and
raisin ice cream? Yes, I certainly was not 18 years old anymore,
and my body easily reminded me of that fact.
Well, it is no surprise I was filling out my clothes and my figure
quite nicely. I hated my bi-annual checkups because I knew I
had been a very bad boy. My doctor is a female, originally from
England. She would lecture me with that brit accent of hers,
about how much weight I had gained, and what I intended to
do about it? I basically told her what she wanted to hear, just
to get out of her office. But deep down, I knew she was right. I
had to do something about this, and quick. I had to change my
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mindset, my attitude, about life in general. I also forgot to tell
you that my wife is a registered nurse, so I was getting the
lecture from both ends. I had to do this not only for me, but for
my family. I made a conscious effort to living a healthier life. I
started to exercise more, and attempted to eat properly. I did
lose some weight, but inevitably, I would regain the pounds I
had lost. Sound familiar? I realized I had to make a Lifestyle
change. I realized that living a healthy life is a lot more
important than a diet. I was now determined to find a program
that will help me not only lose weight, but also assist me in
living a much healthier lifestyle. The program that resonated
with me is the Weight Watchers Points plus Program.
My weight would fluctuate up or down depending on what I
was going through emotionally. At times it would go up, and
other times I would get so dejected, I would feel like food had
no appeal to me. Under these conditions, I needed a program
that would be stable, and consistent, unlike my weight.
Why Weight Watchers Points
Plus?
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First let me say that, I am not a paid sponsor for the weight
watchers corporation. I have absolutely no affiliation with
them at all. The only affiliation I have with weight watchers is
that I presently use their guided weight management program
for my own personal benefit. I believe so much in their
program, I had the need to stand on the mountain top and tell
others about it. I knew so many people that were experiencing
the same challenges I had managing my weight. Over the years
I have tried to lose weight on my own by using several different
strategies and programs. The weird thing is, I would end up
losing a lot of weight effortlessly when my mind was focused or
pre-occupied with other things. When I was dealing with my
health issues, I would always lose a significant amount of
weight. I would lose the weight not because of the health issue
itself, or because of any treatment I was receiving at the
moment. I would lose weight because my mind was
preoccupied with other things, and I just did not have the
desire to want to eat the way I usually do. During that time,
food had lost its appeal to me. Rather than come home, eat
dinner, take a shower, and cuddle with a nice sweet treat while
watching television, I would come home, barely eat dinner,
take a shower, and go to bed. My mind would be pre-occupied
with dealing with the unknowns of my health concerns. But
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certainly, this was not a good position to be in, but the sad
thing is, I was losing weight.
But once I was then able to deal with the prognosis and
treatments and had a renewed attitude, I would regain my love
for food, and watch my weight spike up again.
Most folks gravitate to food when they are feeling down and
find themselves dealing with whatever personal issues they
may have going on in their lives at the moment. I, on the other
hand lose my appetite when I am stressed, and find myself
preoccupied with whatever is going on in my life. To put it
bluntly, I tend to eat everything in sight when things are going
well. I gravitate to food for comfort when I am content with
everything in my life. If I wanted to get healthy, and lose some
weight at the same time, I had to use a very credible, stable,
program that would not stress me out, or punish me, but rather
guide me into a process of acquiring and learning about
positive food habits.
I then realized I could not do this by myself, I had to go look for
a program that will help me along the way. That being said, I
started looking at different weight loss programs.
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I needed to be part of a program that was:
1.
2.
Established
With a Support System, and Available resources which
I could utilize
3. Resonating with what I was looking for, and had a
rational approach to losing weight
4. Accountable
Weight Watchers as a company has been around since 1963. It
has brand recognition, and I have personally known folks who
have had tremendous success with the program.
There is a weight watchers location around every corner. They
offer a lot of tools to help you with your lifestyle change. The
offer resources on their websites, local support groups,
literature, and they offer a full line of weight watchers based
frozen meals at your local supermarket. I joined the program
through a relationship that my company has with weight
watchers. We have weekly meetings to discuss weight loss
challenges, menu suggestions, and any other questions that
you may have regarding the program. The session is led by a
certified weight watchers trainer. I like the group meetings
because it offers me a support system which I can lean on.
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I realized that diets do not work for me. I needed a program
that would offer me a realistic change of my lifestyle. Let’s face
it, I still like food. But that does not mean I have to abuse it. I
was not looking for a strict, punish myself diet program that
would make me lose 30 pounds in 30 days, to only gain back 60
points a few months later. I wanted a program that would
realistically assist me in losing some pounds <My initial target is
25LBs in a 3 month timeframe> and grasping hold of my eating
habits.
The meeting sessions first start off with a weigh in. At first, I
hated this idea. I got to step on that scale, and have the trainer
tell me if I have gained or Loss any weight? Not to mention the
fact that as I walk back to my seat, my coworkers are sitting
there waiting to see how much I gained or loss? Talk about
pressure. But, I realized this kind of pressure will definitely
make me a lot more accountable for my actions. Plus, I love a
little competition. Bring it on Co-workers!
In order to prepare yourself mentally
to be able to start your journey of
healthy living, here are a few tips
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you will need to implement if you
expect to have any success with your
weight management program.
L
1.
earn to control your
portions while eating at home,
and especially while dining out.
Doggie bag it. Portions at restaurants are growing bigger
by the day. Tell yourself at the beginning of the meal that
you only need half and ask your server for a take-out bag
as soon as you're done. This will prevent you from picking
at your plate and provide you with some lovely leftovers
for tomorrow. One of the things I like to do when dining
out with my wife, am that we would order an entrée of the
same menu, and share it amongst ourselves. We would
often complement the meal with additional vegetables if
the portions are considerably small.
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W
2.
eight Loss is all about
Mental toughness
.
Visualize your outcome. Cut a picture of the dress you
like out of a magazine or tape up a picture of you in your
skinny jeans on the fridge. Whatever you're aiming for,
make sure it's somewhere you can see it and make sure
it's a realistic goal.
.
D
3.
ining out Do’s and
Don’ts
Mind over menu. Eating out while trying to stay on track
can be pretty challenging. Avoid overdoing your order by
picking your meal ahead of time. Many restaurants have
their menus available on their websites. Figure out what
you want to fill up on and you'll be ready to avoid
temptation come dinnertime.
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K
4.
eep notes or a diary to
track your progress.
Keep a diary. Just like when you were a kid and you wrote
out what you did that day or how you were feeling, the
practice of keeping a journal can be a great asset when
you're starting a weight-loss plan. Record what you're
eating and how you're exercising. Also, make note of how
you're feeling during different times of the day. It will give
you an idea of what's working and where your routine
could use improvement. The Weight Watchers Program
encourages you to keep a small notebook with you at all
times to document your daily activities, and to track how
many “food points” you are consuming during the day.
You will be given a personal Total Points target which you
should not exceed. This will be given to you during your
first session meeting, after you weigh in.
D
5.
evelop a new attitude
towards grocery shopping
Shop smarter. Never get groceries on an empty stomach.
Time your trip after a meal or a small snack. When your
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tummy isn't grumbling, you'll be more likely to make
healthier decisions. Take a list with you too. It will help
keep you focused on the things you need and away from
the things you don't.
W
6.
ater should become
your new favorite beverage.
H2O like a pro. Drink plenty of water throughout your day
to ensure that you have enough energy to stay on track.
For some extra fuel and to take the edge off hunger, try a
refreshing Special K20™ Protein Water Mix with 5 grams
of protein and fiber.
7.
work.
Bring your own lunch to
BYOL. Taking your lunch to work is a great way to save
some pennies and avoid fast food invitations. Plan out
what you want to pack before each work week and you'll
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save time making something in the morning. Add raw
vegetables like carrots and celery to give your lunch some
crunch.
L
8.
earn to be Emotionally
Stable.
Don't be a stress mess. Stress can sabotage your body's
ability to stick to a diet and trigger a lot of unhealthy
choices. Find ways you can minimize your stress in your life
and you'll also minimize your bad eating habits. For some
extra backup, keep yummy Special K® snack bars and a
bottle of water in your purse or desk drawer for those
moments that are out of your control.
9.
Stay out of the Kitchen
Close the kitchen. Chances are the more times you have to
go into your kitchen each day, the more you're going to be
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tempted to grab a bite to eat. As soon as you finish with each
meal, clean up dishes and turn off the lights. Tell yourself
that the kitchen is closed and find an activity in another room
of your house.
10.
Have Reasonable Goals
Stair step your goals. Having just one big goal may be simple,
but it can be more frustrating to reach. Try adding a few
small goals along the way, like going to the gym three days in
a week or eating a vegetable at every meal. Small
accomplishments will help make the whole experience more
rewarding. You should target your weight loss goals at 5%,
and 10% increments. First try and lose 5% of your weight
initially, and then try to lose 10% of your total weight, and so
on. Emotionally, you will need to see small victories first,
which will then give you the positive re-enforcement you will
need to continue.
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K
11.
now the Value of
everything that you place in your
mouth.
Typically when we are being conscious of the foods that
we eat, we try and understand the value of the foods that
we eat by counting calories. This has been the standard
over the years. In recent years, there has been a new way
of placing a value on the foods that we are eating. This
value involves applying a “points” system to each and
every item of food that we place in our mouth. The points
system uses a more scientific and rational approach of
understanding the impact on our bodies of the types of
food that we eat. Personally, the points system approach
has worked for me, and provides a more simplistic and
rational approach of making a mental note of the foods
that I place in my mouth.
It does not matter which weight management program
you decide to join. Whichever program it is, it will/should
educate you about the nutritional values of the most
common types of food that we eat daily. The Weight
Watchers program has a detailed list on their website of
the nutritional values of just about every conceivable food
component, and the nutritional value of meals found on
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the menus of most restaurants! This information is
priceless.
D
12.
o not consider your
weight loss program to be a diet.
Let me be the first to tell you something that you may, or
may not know. Diets do not work if you are looking for a
long term solution to your weight loss challenge! I have
tried many diets over the years. Did I lose weight? Yes I
did. But I usually ended up gaining back all the weight,
and then some, within a short timeframe thereafter. I
would get so frustrated! I thought I was hopeless. Why
can’t I keep the weight off? Diets do not work. If you do
not like the way you see yourself in the mirror, something
has to be done about it. There is no magic way of losing
weight, despite what you may have heard. Sure, there are
surgeries, and pills that you could consume. Surgery to
lose weight? As far as I am concerned, walking into a
hospital, and having your body sliced up in hopes of losing
weight, is asking for trouble.
Losing weight requires a lifestyle change of understanding
how to eat properly in order to shed pounds, and putting
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together a plan that includes a controlled nutritional diet,
physical activity, emotional stability, and other lifestyle
balances.
B
13.
e Accountable to
yourself! Learn to stay on track,
and stay on course. You will only
have yourself to blame if you
don’t!
Let me tell you up front, that living a healthier lifestyle will not
happen overnight. Just like everything else in life, it will take a
positive mindset, descipline, and learning to overcome hurdles.
We have become accustomed to believing everything we see
on television. We are overwhelmed with late night
infomercials, and testimonials from celebrities that are paid to
promote a weight loss company’s initiative. Remember that
those celebs are provided personal trainers, personal chefs, and
everything they will need in order to look fit in front of the
camera in order to promote a product. And still then, a lot of
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those celebs blow up like balloons a short time after they cash
their commission checks!
You will need to be part of a weight loss program that first
resonates with you. It has to provide a reasonable approach to
living healthy, without punishing you. Nobody likes to be
punished. Let’s face it, if you are part of a weight loss program
that stresses punishing yourself by starving yourself, and
overwhelming you with a constant barrage of daily physical
activities, it is only a matter of time before you throw your
hands up in the air and throw in the towel. Because, it is not
realistic, and practical.
Summary
Well, however so briefly, you now know my story. I am glad to
share with you the things that I have learned along the way in
order to manage my weight, and live a healthier lifestyle. I am
so happy being me right now. I want to do a dance and wiggle
my tailfeather every day I get out of bed. I truly have a lot to
be thankful for, and I want to be around for a long time to
watch my kids grow up and grow old with my wife so that we
can wiggle our tailfeathers together.
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Lets face it, losing weight Is not rocket science. We all know
what it is we have to do in order to live healthier lifestyles. But
like anything else, you have to “train” your brain, and
implement a program and mindset in order to do so.
I wish you the best, and hope you found this guide useful. Feel
free to email me, [email protected].
A more detailed guide, complete with more useful information
can be obtained at Lose25LBSin90days.com.
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